Differences emerged between federal and the Sindh governments over the post of inspector general of police after the provincial cabinet on Wednesday gave a green signal to remove Kaleem Imam from the post.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s leaders in Sindh, however, were quick to point out that it is the federal government which holds the power to recommend who the next IGP should be, and not the provincial government.
In a meeting held on the province’s overall law and order situation earlier in the day, the Sindh cabinet expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of IGP Kaleem Imam. Names of Ghulam Qadir Thebo, Mushtaq Mehar and Dr Jameel came under consideration as Imam’s replacement during the meeting. Majority of the cabinet members chose Thebo as their first choice, but left the final decision on the issue to the Sindh chief minister.
The cabinet also requested the chief minister to initiate disciplinary action against Imam by sending a detailed statement, with proof of his misconduct, to the establishment division.
Speaking to media after the cabinet meeting, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that a number of reasons for the current IG’s removal have piled up. “Today’s meeting was held after the Sindh government had written a letter to the IG on December 13 to inform him of their intention to get the establishment division involved in the matter,” he said.
Discussing some of the reservations the provincial government has with Imam, Ghani said, “At certain points, the Sindh IGP gave some irresponsible statements regarding transfers and postings. Furthermore, the IGP kept writing letters to various embassies directly. According to the rules, a police chief cannot directly write letters to embassies. If one has to conduct any such correspondence, it needs to happen through the Foreign Office or through the provincial government’s administrative body.”
Ghani also mentioned the ‘mishandling’ of the Bisma and Dua Mangi kidnapping cases as one of the reasons for the cabinet’s decision. “Dua Mangi’s family was not ready to cooperate with police regarding her kidnapping and once she had returned, the Sindh chief minister had to give a number of assurances in order for them to record their statement with the police,” he said.
Ghani also mentioned the Irshad Ranjhani case. “This case was mishandled by the IGP, he resisted the arrest of the police officials responsible for Ranjhani’s killing. This resulted in rioting all over the province and four people also lost their lives in Larkana,” he said.
“The IGP has given several statements regarding him not being able to choose his own team. However, in reality, I can assure you that at least in Karachi, from the additional IGP to any SSP, all transfers and postings have been made on his recommendation,” he said. I am telling you about a few of the incidents that caused the cabinet to make this decision, the list is very long,” he added.
He then went on to say that the Sindh government is bound to send three names for the establishment division to choose from. “And they are bound to pick one name. This is the due process, which could be simpler if provinces are given the power to conduct their own transfers and postings,” he said. “In the past, a number of IGPs have been replaced in KP, Punjab and even the federal capital without any reason given, in our case, we are actually giving concrete reasons for our request. This is why, we believe there should be no problem in replacing the current police chief,” he said.
The leadership of PTI’s Sindh chapter reacted strongly to the development, saying they will not allow the PPP government to make the move at any cost. They also decided to take the matter to the court. “Names for Sindh IGPs are recommended by the Centre and not by the provincial government,” PTI leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi said in a statement. “The PPP government wants to use Sindh Police against its political opponents … we won’t allow this to happen and approach all possible fora to stop the change,” he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also taken notice of the development. In a telephonic conversation with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, he tasked the latter to consult all the stakeholders on the matter.
